GLA Leadership
The GLA has no command structure. Maybe once there were men who led these fighters and rebels on what might have been a noble crusade to create true nations in the Middle East. Instead, a dozen and a half petty warlords overshadow what few true men might have once held sway in the GLA. Prince Kassam "It was never meant to be, brothers. Goodbye." :- Last words of Prince Kassam Prince Kassam was a member of the Jordanian royal family, one of the younger men of the family who still grew up in opulence and security. In such an environment it would be hard to be noticed, but for the young prince, he seemed to enjoy anonymity, preferring to stay by himself or with a few friends than attend lavish parties or concerts in the capitol's performance houses. It was by his choice to study in the West during his youth, and on his return he fell in with the Pan-Arab movement, convinced that his ancestor's proud history would be revived once Western interference was removed. This attitude flew in the face of Kassam's father, who needed the Allied Nations to ensure that the nation's economic status could be ensured against Soviet sympathizers. Kassam's constant pushing, however, did force the king to make some measures to improve the lives of the average Jordanian, including highway projects and development of the nation's industries. While Kassam saw progress, the fact that the Allies still effectively ruled the king's decisions meant that there was still no true freedom. When the earliest cells of the GLA formed, Kassam turned his back on his family, and threw his lot in with the GLA, using his own personal funds to supply "Cobra Cell" with weapons and information. Kassam was a surprisingly adept leader, utilizing hit and run attacks in the same vein as Lawrence of Arabia. He took steps to form connections with local tribesmen to build a base of support that he could rely on in times of desperation. While a narcissist in terms of how he saw his role as a great Arab liberator, his university education made his leadership more strategic in terms of goals and objectives than many of his contemporaries. When the Allies came for him he vanished, only to reappear and strike in a weakly defended area. His call for a new Arab liberation attracted followers, and miniature "Cobra heirs" erupted in various Jordanian cities. Kassam eschewed the increasingly radical trappings of other GLA leaders, opting instead for a more humanistic vision of a free Arabian state, ruled by jurisprudence and the people (under the watchful eye of the monarchy of course). Unfortunately for Kassam, his skills at leading his forces was outpaced by his ability to make enemies. He was found dead in his personal quarters one morning, gun still smoking, the body of an unknown assailant sprawled on the opposite side of the room. His cell's medics did what they could, but the weapons that killed Kassam were enough to put him down permanently. While the Allies could claim no credit for Kassam's death, it was hoped that this would end the issues in Jordan. Instead, dozens of newly independent GLA cells erupted, and the Jordanian royal family itself is starting to view the Allies suspiciously knowing ACIN's reputation. Rodall "Demo" Aziz "You may have defeated me, crusader, but God will avenge me." :- Final radio transmission from Aziz's personal gun truck Rodall Aziz grew up a poor child on the Gaza Strip in Palestine, his only recognizable skill his dextrous fingers. Apprenticed to a watchmaker in the city, Rodall learned how to make his hands work wonders. Eventually, he opened his own shop and managed to support his aged parents and siblings. Though few Palestinians actually owned watches, the tourists and pilgrims making their way to Jerusalem and other sites in the Holy Land kept his doors open and coffers healthy. At first, Aziz ignored the GLA and their calls to fight. He was no warrior, and considered their shouting a nuisance like most of the other shopkeepers. They were, after all, already free. As far as he was concerned, the Allies were as distant from his life as Moscow. Until one day an elderly looking European walked into his shop to ask for a repair on an intricate watch, a piece of work unlike any previous timepiece Aziz had ever repaired. The time and effort put into the watch was exhausting, and more than once Aziz wanted to call the customer and tell him that he was unable to complete the task. But he did, and the man paid handsomely. Mentioning that Aziz could do greater things with his skills, the man left a business card for an address in Jerusalem, and left. Curious and anxious to find more business, Aziz left for Jerusalem only to find the address surrounded by a crowd of protestors. The address, revealed to be the Allied consulate building in Palestine, was being circled by protestors calling out for representatives in the Allied Parliament and greater recognition for their own economic struggles. It was obvious GLA agitators were in the crowd that day, but from where he stood Aziz saw the Allied forces in front of the building readying to do something. When one of the protestors was clearly shoved by accident into the line of blue, it was clear that their intention was to punish the protestors for their disobedience. Tear gas choked the crowd, women screaming in pain and men being beaten down by the Allied soldiers. Behind the line was the same elderly gentlemen, checking the same watch. Aziz joined the GLA that day and didn't dare look back. He learned from his new brothers in "Scorpion Cell" that some other force was holding actual power in Palestine, but there was no name or face to attach to these mysterious individuals. Aziz could only barely describe the man's face to them, but it was enough to be a start. Aziz found himself as the cell's new bombmaker, his skilled hands able to put out bombs of such precision and power that all the authorities could do when they found one was to clear as many people away as possible and try to contain the blast. Bombings skyrocketed in Palestine, and Aziz justified the casualties by telling himself that this was for their own freedom. Eventually, the force that controlled Palestine had enough of Scorpion Cell. Men in armor, Christian priests with flamethrowers, men using bows and arrows. Scorpion fought for all that it had, but it was clear their crimes had finally found them. Aziz, by now the senior leader of the cell, ordered the cell to scatter, keeping a few members to fight and cover the escape. It turned out that Aziz was a terrifying foe for these enemies to face, as his knowledge of clockwork and gave him almost instantaneous insights into the method to take down the enemy's vehicles. Unfortunately for Scorpion's fighters, the enemy's infantry weren't as vulnerable to Aziz's keen eyes, and after hours of fighting a massive, flame-spewing behemoth started to destroy the resisting fighters. Knowing that the cell had to survive, Aziz loaded up his gun truck with as many explosives as he could and wired them to a pressure plate. Ordering the few fighters left to flee, he roared onto the field, shouting into the radio on the freedom of Palestine and Arabs everywhere. The explosion tore open the flame vehicle, killing any infantry in a half-block radius. Scorpion cell fights on today, ever watchful for knights in armor and hell-spewing tanks. "Dr. Thrax" "Try it, you'll like it." :- Dr. Thrax, interrogating a Legion prisoner Whoever Dr. Thrax was is a mystery. Whatever trace exists of his former life before the GLA has been obliterated. Tribes on the Afghan/Pakistani border will spend days moving through the harsh mountains rather than risk the chance of encountering Thrax's bases deep in the hills. Even other GLA warlords, haughty men with little fear of reprisal, tread carefully around Dr. Thrax. In truth, the initial ACIN reports about Thrax being a basement-dwelling failure were brought out because, frankly, they had failed to locate him. While this might seem bizarre, there is some truth to the saying that there is nothing harder than trying to find a man who does not want to be found. The initial ACIN report was simply put out to try and calm some nerves among the Parliament. Not that they needed to feel too badly though, as both the KGB and SPIDER also came up empty. This has created a veritable cottage industry of rumors about Thrax, not the least of which is that his only goal is to break into the research labs in Xanadu and take what he pleases. Thrax first appeared on the world's radar shortly after the "new government" in Afghanistan provided for the construction of the Xanadu sprawl. Reports of workers dying of disease and poison became disturbingly common, enough that the Syndicate had to bring in water purifiers and precooked meals to keep construction apace. SPIDER backed efforts to try and find the culprits often found nothing, or worse, came back hacking their lungs out and begging for help. Examination of the corpses of several victims discovered extremely virulent strains of smallpox and anthrax. Beyond that, there are also the samples of what appears to be lethal variants of DDT, recovered from the barely recognisable remains of human bodies and half melted wrecks of vehicles. SPIDER has tried making multiple offers to Thrax to work for them instead of just killing their auxiliaries, but Thrax has refused violently each time. Both ACIN and the KGB believe that Thrax might be an Afghan nationalist, but SPIDER disagrees. Their own reports note that Thrax is just as likely to assault his fellow Afghans as he is the Legion, as well as other rival GLA warlords that go against his own path to conquest. SPIDER considers him a radical, a mad dog that can't be bargained or reasoned with. Despite trying to eliminate Thrax's operations, the man himself is hiding out in the mountainous terrain on the Afghan/Pakistani border. Ill-equipped for a campaign of war in the mountains, the Syndicate is currently trying to justify sending Italy's Alpine Corps to do the fighting for them. Mohmar "Deathstrike" "You may outnumber me now, commander. But it takes more than numbers to win a war." :- Last transmission from Deathstrike to Allied command in Saudi Arabia Out of all the GLA, few are as revered as "General Deathstrike". To the common rebel, he is a leader of men, a pious and zealous fighter against the decadent west in Saudi Arabia. To the Allies, he's an enigma, since he was one of the White Guard leaders that rebelled after King Faizal's announcement. To all others, he's a ghost, gone so far into the empty quarter that there's no trace. Deathstrike was one of the most competent commanders in the Saudi military, and his actions against the nascent GLA in his country reflected the psychological profile of a calm, strategic soldier that cared more about fighting effectively than fighting at all. Trained by British military advisors, Mohmar was also a relatively pious man, living as best he could to the tenets of Islam and as a leader of the White Guard. This is what's most confusing to ACIN, since there was never any indication of mental instability in General Mohmar before the White Guard's massed rebellion. Some have theorized that, like the rest of the White Guard, Mohmar is disturbed by how quickly King Faizal threw in his lot with the Allies out of fear of the GLA, when in reality his own forces were quite effectively putting down GLA cells and activity nationwide. While not charged with assaulting the king's residence, Mohmar was tasked with tying up those White Guard forces still loyal to the king. During the fighting he earned the name "Deathstrike", since his forces were able to put V2 missiles down with such accuracy that his foes could only "Huddle together and wait for Death's strike". Despite the failure of the GLA attack, Deathstrike reconstituted the GLA forces that made the assault and retreated. He posted small cells inside Riyadh and ordered much of the White Guard to keep mobile and wait for requests for assistance to come through. Despite his tactical abilities, it was noted that Deathstrike had issues with the GLA's methods of fighting, and its leaders. It was shortly after giving these orders that Deathstrike pulled his personal forces into the empty quarter, and since then wandering tribes that herd on the borders of the quarter report massive dust clouds in the desert on the horizon. ACIN has also been hard pressed to find Deathstrike, following leads on everything from him being spotted on a pilgrimage to Mecca to sightings of him in Somalia. GLA leaders are anxious to do the same, fearing that Deathstrike's charisma and military experience will bury them and what petty fiefdoms they've built for themselves. Jarmen Kell "Business...is business." :- Kell, accepting an offer to drive marauding GLA forces from a small village near Fallujah. Some soldiers don't fight for country. Some don't fight for any higher cause or belief. Mercenaries of every stripe still exist, not as a corporate patsy, but as independent operators trying to live on skills that kill. Agent Tanya was born from this mercenary lifestyle, but fell in with the Allied ideas of freedom and democratic rule. Legion Security and the Enforcers both offer generous compensation for any soldier of fortune whose skills can pay the bills. Then, there are the lone wolves. Mercenaries that fight as long as the money's good, or according to their own moral compass. Jarmen Kell was once such a mercenary. Allegedly, he was a partner alongside Agent Tanya during World War II. His skill with his ancient SKS made it possible for him to effectively target a vehicle's driver and crew, allowing Tanya to plow into the infantry unscathed. But when the Allies solidified, when Tanya and the other mercenaries decided they'd found a "permanent client", Kell and others rejected the offer. The Allies clearly were turning against the same mercenaries that helped save them, not-so-subtly hinting that mercenaries were not to be trusted. Some of Tanya's old companions became PMCs with I.I. or Legion. Others gave up the life and retired. Kell could do neither. His skills were so deeply ingrained into his being that being told to stop just didn't register. He wanders the Mideast now, a legendary figure to the common people. Usually he'll appear a drifter at first, tattered and disheveled even for the towns he enters. Should anyone make trouble, Kell will protect anyone he considers innocent, usually women and children. Unfortunately, this only draws attention to these towns, and soon the villagers will beg Kell's help, offering whatever they can; money, jewels, even a wife if they're truly desperate. Kell typically accepts, though his quiet and taciturn nature still appear offputting. In Iran, he's fought off corrupt Soviet infantry battalions. In Jordan, ACIN agents trying to use innocent villages to draw out the GLA. He's even fought the GLA itself, though he'll just as often work for them if they can pay. This is the paradox of Jarmen Kell, since he'll gladly accept the sums being paid by the GLA leaders, but will often leave the villages he saves before they can give him payment. SPIDER agents assigned to track Kell for possible recruitment believe there is some kind of longstanding chip of Kell's shoulder, a crime or tragedy that, while long past, still haunts Kell. SPIDER believes he's an atoner now, and that with the right trigger, he can be made to work for them. Category:Characters